“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. It is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” - Winston Churchill

After our last SAWIP debrief we all walked away feeling the same appreciation, joy and sadness as we did upon leaving Washington D.C. just a little over two months ago. It was amazing hearing from everyone what their highlights were, there was a huge sense of appreciation and humbleness in the room as our time together as a team drew to a close. In all honesty I still can’t fully comprehend the fact that I went through this incredible experience. If someone had told me a year ago I would be a part of this program and be the person I am today, I surely would have laughed at them. But here I am and fascinated by the amount of growth that I went through. What was most inspirational was the letters we received from management. These letters were from ourselves to ourselves written at the start of the program on orientation camp. Upon receiving it most of us had long forgotten what we wrote down, but as some of us read it, we could not help but be moved to tears by our own words.

I really felt that I grew immensely in the last six months and this letter genuinely affirmed that. This is the first paragraph I wrote down in the letter to myself and before I had passed my undergraduate degree;

“I want you to know that you did it, you broke the pattern, raised your standards and reached the highest mark of your young academic and personal career. Right now I still feel a little insecure and unconfident, but you will have acquired the confidence and positive attitude to make a change.”

These words accurately reflect my experience and growth on SAWIP. We all have grown so much. If I just look at some of my team mates and compare how they were the first time we met on selection camp to the people they are now, it’s a significant difference. We love to say that we are so different than we were, but I would like to say we are more the same than we have ever been. We are more our true selves than we ever were before, all that changed is the opinions and stigmas of others, we carried around with us, has fallen away and we have revealed unto ourselves who we truly are. It’s absolutely impossible to put into words the impact SAWIP has had on all our lives. I hope that these blogs, although they don’t do justice to it, will to some extent convey how we have grown.

Thank you once again to everyone who has made this a memorable experience.

“Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die for having left undone.” - Pablo Picasso

These words hold new meaning for me. I believe in living each day as if it were your last, because it just might be. This is just a short blog to remind us to live today and enjoy the moment.

A few days ago I was in an accident that potentially could have claimed my life. Miraculously I walked away with no serious injuries. Reflecting on the accident made me realise how short and unpredictable life really is. I often felt that because I am still young, I still had time; time to fool around and enjoy being a student and being irresponsible. But through this accident I realised how wrong I am. Time is such a precious commodity that should not be taken for granted, because regardless of how young you are, time is never on your side.

As young people, we often set our sights on the future, planning and creating a vision for ourselves. This is all wonderful, but I want to emphasise a lesson I learnt the hard way; that life is about TODAY. We shouldn’t think or plan so far ahead of ourselves that we forget we are alive today and to live in the moment, right now. It’s easy to lose sight of who we are when we focus too hard on the future. We can easily neglect ourselves in this way and forget to enjoy life where we are right now. Each day is a gift and we should make the best of it, we don’t call it the “Present” for nothing.

Two weeks ago, the SAWIP team had a session on American elections with U.S delegates from the republican and democratic office. What had seemed to me a session not worth attending, because of my lack of interest in politics, sparked a curiosity and intrigue on this subject. When it comes to politics one can talk for hours or even days and dissect the topic into different facets and components, but here I discovered something else about politics than the usual legislative or parliamentary issues. What came up in this session was the concept of leading with values and beliefs, and of being held accountable for those values and beliefs. This got me thinking as to how politics actually work, or rather should work; I began to understand politics a little bit better. This philosophy behind politics seems sound, but it is known that leaders have governed with immoral and tainted principles and beliefs. But thinking about this principle or value driven system of governance in the context of South-Africa, made me realize it either doesn't exist or is lost in the politics of today. When I think about politics in this sense I realized; people vote for ideals and not ideas, people come out to vote not only because of what you believe, but what they believe and see reflected in you; a shared believe. We need people who can stand up for our beliefs when we are unwilling or unable to. We need people to create an environment which is governed by the values of the people and in so doing create a positive, peaceful and uplifting nation that we all can excel in. We need those people that believe, what we believe, that value what we value. We need them to create a safe space for us to practice and live out our values and beliefs, without being judged or discriminated upon.

If our leaders would understand this principle I am certain that South-Africa and the world would be a better place to live in. Of course this in not easy, especially in our diversity of class race and culture, but I believe this provides the opportunity for us to become united. Our constitution makes provision for leaders to lead with values and character, but we seldom find leaders willing enough to state what they value and believe and being open to be held accountable for that. We often lay strong criticism and judgement on politics when it is not the politics that is at fault, but the way in which politics is being practiced. Our politicians, just as our nation needs to be re-educated about governance and democracy. If we could teach our future leaders to practice politics on the right principles; with values and beliefs, ideals and ideas, we can achieve the standard of living which we are capable of, we can overcome our many complex challenges crippling our society, and because of this I believe there is hope for South-Africa.

Being a part of SAWIP and having gone through 95% of the curriculum, one has to look back and wonder; how did it all go by so quickly? Being around the phenomenal people that are my team mates and friends I feel abundantly blessed.  Thinking back to all the people we met and relationships that were forged I count myself amongst the most fortunate in the world.

 I am sure every one of us on the team recognises and appreciates this privilege. As we are moving towards graduation and look back on this journey, I am equally sure we are thinking of the next step, the next challenge that lies ahead. As individuals all of us will have a different answer to this and even though I don’t know what those answer are, I would like to draw a common thread through all of them; we must live up to the hope, faith, trust and expectations that have been placed upon us. Regardless what our endeavours may be, I believe our purpose through all this is to live above the norm, to lead and not follow, to conquer our inherent need to blend in so that we may stand out and shine. I remember being in school and hearing these words from a motivational speaker; "Don’t live to be ordinary. Strive to be extraordinary.”

I want to appeal to my team mates to keep these words close to heart, to keep the flame alive. We have an inherent need to feel like we belong and blend in, but there is yet another more pressing need we are less aware of, the need to let our light shine and be authentic. I believe SAWIP has been instrumental in awakening us to this truth about ourselves. Yes, we may have been aware of this before SAWIP, but through SAWIP we have been set alight to this greatness we poses. We have not only been inspired and enlightened but also empowered. I believe we have to use this empowerment to rise above the limits of our society, and not live under dogma, but to challenge the status quo and plot a new course for our country, starting with ourselves.

Three months later and I find myself being stuck in an idle mind. Even though I think critically about things and generate ideas, that’s just about where it ends; I don’t act on my ideas and whenever I do it is usually to the wrong thoughts. I found myself leaving things for the last minute so that I could feel some resemblance of excitement and motivation to get something done. I soon became bored and frustrated with myself; this was followed with guilt for not working as hard as my SAWIP team mates. But of course for me the hard work was a thing of the past and I felt entitled to this resting period. I never understood why it is said; “Never allow victories to become obstacles”. I understand now that victories can as quickly turn into obstacles as the adversity that stood between oneself and those victories. It is an inconvenient truth, but one must work tirelessly and never rest for too long after an achievement, because it’s when we are in a state of rest that being comfortable sets in, and being comfortable leads to mediocrity.

Coming back to South-Africa after such a fantastic experience was wonderful, but also challenging, because what waited was a different challenge than that of D.C. Surely nothing and no one could have prepared or warned me of the impending trap that lie waiting in the midst of my home; it was the trap of mediocrity and indifference, and of course coming off the rigorous curriculum in Washington D.C. I was inclined to rest for a while, but not too long. I did, however end up resting too long. I could blame a number of things; the fact that it was the winter season upon returning, reverse jetlag, having passed my degree and only doing one subject this semester. And how does one keep the momentum of that phenomenal D.C journey coming back to South-Africa after such a rigorous programme? I literally had no reason to get up early or work hard, because the worst was behind me, I just had to wait to graduate end of this year and that was it.

Through falsely believing that I had done all I could do, I fell into a state of mediocrity and passivity. I slowly blended back into a passive society, into a normal and ordinary life. I did not realise the so called ‘rest’ I thought I am entitled to, would swiftly turn into quicksand of indifference and passivity. But remembering that I am a part of SAWIP and being around the team makes me realise how extraordinary we are and how extraordinary we can be, if we live responsibly. Being responsible for who you are and who you want to be.

When people talk to me they always ask; “What was it that made you change so radically as to motivate you to rise out of poverty and be able to go to Washington D.C? How did you do it?” I can never give a satisfactory answer to this, because I myself do not know how I did it. However, the ‘How’ wasn’t the most important thing, it’s ‘Why’ that is the right question to ask; why did I do it? And in light of this question I began to unravel within myself a sense of another transition. But what is there to transcend through when I have transcended my circumstance? What is left to conquer? Did I not achieve my goal of obtaining my degree despite the odds?

There is one transition all of us should go through at one stage of our lives; the acknowledgement and acceptance of who we truly are and bringing that forth into physical reality. I find myself at the brink of this transition. Although I have gone through so many challenges before, it is clear nothing is as difficult as facing oneself and acknowledging change needs to happen. It is true, only when we understand the difficulty in changing ourselves do we understand the difficulty in changing others. We as the change agents of our country need to be fully aware of the significance of this universal truth, because only then will we become the change we want to see in the world.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My name is Shannon Lambrechts and I am a proud South African citizen and Member of the SAWIP Class of 2012. First of all let me thank each and every one of you present tonight for sending us off at this wonderful farewell.

Allow me to share a little about my past with you. I was born and raised in poverty, into a family and circumstances of drugs and gangsterism. I never saw myself being anything other than a gangster or garbage man. A gangster because that was the highest standard set in the area I lived in, and a garbage man because of a cheerful uncle of mine who worked on the garbage truck all his life and would bring home food, gifts and the latest gadgets. When asked where he got them, he always said “at work” and I said: “Wow! I want to do what you do.” At that point working on a garbage truck seemed like a very illustrious career. Me and my friends would even volunteer and help clean up trash in the hopes of making it in this sought-after career.

In my family, my father is the breadwinner and my mother is unemployable due to a mental disorder that makes it hard for her to concentrate. Poverty entered our home through my father’s drug and alcohol abuse habits. When I think of my father I can only picture him in a state under the influence of drugs or alcohol, for that is how I saw him most of my childhood. I have an older brother who bravely tried to finish high school, but was unable to get past the 11^th grade. He was told to quit school and find a job. He has been unemployed for the last five years and also lives under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

My dreams of becoming a garbage man were shattered when my family moved out of our incredibly dangerous area to a place that was mildly better called Kuils River. In my early school days I still had the mentality of the environment I grew up in. So naturally I resented education for it did not fit into the life I saw for myself. I spent the early years of high school being somewhat of a rebel. My schooling became increasingly difficult during the last few years and no one expected us to make it through the 12^th grade. This was primarily due to the lack of teachers at our school. But here is where my life would change forever. I decided to become my own teacher and took it upon myself to do whatever it took to make it into University. This is where my mind-set shifted and I set my eyes on becoming a scientist. As for my classmates, we made it with a 97% pass rate and most of us managed to find jobs or get into college.

Six years later and here I stand, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the end of this year. It was quite difficult for my parents to understand why their ambitious little garbage man had pursued a career in such a “strange” field. I had been told all my life I would never achieve much, that I was branded to become a labourer working for minimum wage stuck in a dead-end job. Well, I would like to hear what those critics have to say now.

I told myself that if I am going to break the circle of poverty, I am going to set the bar high, so that those after me may know what is possible for them. Therefore I have set out to attain nothing less than a Ph.D. in my field of study, Microbiology or Biotechnology, so that my family will never be looked down upon again.

My SAWIP experience has been indescribably amazing. I have grown immensely on this program and will continue to do so long after we are done with the curriculum. During my time in DC I had the pleasure of living with the most fun, generous, and incredible family, Tom, Carol and Max Wheeler. Thank you for not just opening your home, but your heart to me. I truly enjoyed every moment with you. I would also like to acknowledge Sharon Watkins from N Street Village where I completed my work exposure. Thank you Sharon for all you have taught me and for a great opportunity at N Street. And thank you to SAWIP. All of the board members, team management and especially Kim and Claire for making this a memorable experience.

I believe this to be a turning point in my life. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to the way I was. If I had not embarked on this phenomenal SAWIP journey I fear I would have completed my studies and eventually shipped myself off to Europe or the USA with my Ph.D. as so many have done before, because of the threat of being over-qualified. But I am now more motivated than ever before to complete my studies and stay in South Africa to put my education to use and to inspire and work with other young people. SAWIP has returned to me a long gone pride in South-Africa and renewed sense of responsibility for my country and people.

In closing, when we speak about SAWIP and investing in South Africa’s youth, it is often mistakenly assumed that this investment is limited to the individuals on each SAWIP team. What I have come to learn is that investment in a SAWIP student is an investment in a nation. We come from diverse backgrounds and thus when we’re supported, it is not just an investment in one individual, but an investment in the impact each of us will have on communities throughout South-Africa. How will we measure the returns on this investment? It will not be in our own individual accomplishments, it will not be how much money we will one day earn, but it will be in the eyes and spirit of a generation that has found hope and faith in their country like I have. It will be in the hearts and minds of our youth, who will take South Africa to heights it is capable of.

Thank you all for making this investment. Thank you for believing in us and helping us to believe in ourselves and our country. Thank you.

Something that caught my attention during our amazing leadership dinner earlier this week, it was a short discussion on how lucky South-Africa was to have great leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Walter Sisulu and many alike being alive at the same time in the same country. We accredit South-Africa’s liberation from apartheid primarily to the striking coincidence of these great men being alive and in South-Africa at a crucial time. Of course one can dispute this by arguing these great leaders came up because of the apartheid system rather than in spite of it, however this raises the question of whether or not leaders are made or born. Whatever your thoughts on this may be, the fact remains South-Africa had a power house of great leaders all alive and in one country at the same time. This was in a time of change for South-Africa and South-Africa had the arsenal, the leadership arsenal, to make change happen and change a nation forever.

So I wondered if we have the same leadership arsenal in the world today. Looking at the state of the world, it is certainly clear we need the likes of Nelson Mandela in conflict resolution in places such as the Middle East. Many people question the ability of today’s leaders to bring positive change in the world and rightly so, because there hasn’t been a leadership parallel to that of Nelson Mandela or Martin Luthur King, Jr. There haven’t been colossal efforts to eradicate many of the world’s problems such as poverty, racial and gender inequality, water scarcity and many more. It seems that solving global problems is a seasonal process; there is a season where each problem comes up in the U.N or A.U and other organizations, while people affected by these problems die on a daily basis. This is largely due to the institutionalization of leadership through organizations like the U.N. But this is not the only factor hindering positive change. Gone are the days when great men did not only live for something, but were willing to die for it. Maybe we don’t need such drastic measures of leadership, but we certainly need something to inspire change.

In pondering the idea of great leaders being alive at the same time and influencing a nation to change I turned my thoughts to myself and SAWIP. Am I not alive in an age of great leaders? Will the world ever have the caliber of Nelson Mandela again? I am tempted to say no, but in reflecting upon SAWIP and what it entails, I realize I live in an age where potential great leaders are not just alive, but brought together and supported to collaborate in such a way that transcends anything ever done in the past. The organized effort to bring together young emerging leaders in a cooperative network that creates a bond and platform, which will last a life time for these leaders to interact and collaborate their efforts to solve and address global issues, is an unprecedented truth. This could be the greatest time to be alive in the history of our country and the world. I believe I am more fortunate to be alive in this day and age where not just a few great are alive at the same time, but a network of potential great leaders are alive, active and being equipped to solve the world’s problems. The only thing we need to do, the only thing the SAWIP students should do, is live up the potential and faith that is entrusted in them. If we all do that, history will tell a story of a network of great leaders being alive at the same time and inspired colossal efforts which changed the world.

During our stay and discussion in Washington, education has been one of the hot topics on the table. In almost all of our session the discussion would come back to education and the primary question resting on all of our minds is how can we reform the education system. One thing I’ve come to realize is that education reform cannot and will not happen solely through changing government policies or teacher salaries alone. What has happened to the state of education in South-Africa is so severe that it is ingrained into the mindset of both teachers and learners. Teachers can easily be persuaded to re-think education, but the learners is where the greatest challenge lies.

In reforming education, one has to tackle the issue in multiple arenas simultaneously. What I propose is looking at all the facets influencing learning, not just formal schooling, and start there. Policies do need to be changed, and teachers need to be granted greater recognition, but all of this will sink if the learner’s mind set isn’t changed as well. In this arena there are plenty of opportunities; social media and internet based learning is one of the empty arenas. In one of our recent sessions with a few of the top entrepreneurs in Washington we spoke on the opportunities in internet based learning systems such as Khan Academy and ePals. These platforms create integrated learning for teachers and learners, and it’s reforming the way teachers and learners are thinking about education. I believe this is something that has been overlooked in South-Africa. Many e-learning systems try to come through already established platforms through social media such as mxit or facebook. This didn’t work and won’t ever work, because these platforms already have an identity and trying to bring something to those platforms that does not resonate with its identity is futile. So people write off internet learning systems because it doesn’t seem to work. However, what we don’t seem to realize is that new platforms need to be crated and distributed with a pre-determined identity focused on integrated learning. In this way e-based learning systems won’t spiral out of control and out of its identity and purpose like so many e-based learning systems have. There are obvious challenges to this such as internet access and infrastructure, but if we can realize the potential of e-based learning and prioritize reforming education, we should do whatever it takes to get it right.

After what must’ve been one of the longest and most stimulating days in the program thus far, the SAWIP team was split into groups of five to attend a leadership dinner with U.S board members and distinguished guests to what would be a wonderful evening of stimulating youth transformation. Our afternoon session being the highlight of the day, when we were granted the opportunity to meet with the legendary Congressman John Lewis. What a brilliant man! I’ve never seen all of us on the team so captivated and intrigued by a single person or event. We sat with Congressman Lewis in his office and listened with aware to his stories about growing up in poverty, leading the civil rights movement in the 1960’s for equal voting rights in the U.S and preaching to a congregation of chickens as a young boy. Though short, it was in my mind the most inspiring session we have had so far. I was inspired by Congressman Lewis to study the great leaders of the World, to study the ages when great change took place and above all else to discard fear and be courageous. I’ll never forget what he said: “When you stand up for something and you not just willing to live and speak out about it, but to die for it. That’s when you are liberated.” I strive to one day be that liberated.

We spent our late afternoon among distinguished academics speaking on the parallels of civil rights movements in South-Africa and the United States. This was very interesting and our dialogue on civil rights movement swung to an interactive history discussion on the absence of stories or history of minority races such as blacks. But what has been the most inspiring evening event thus far was the leadership dinner and interaction with distinguished guests from a diverse background on a level that made us feel like the guests and teachers of the evening. We spoke on issues relating to politics, education, leadership and most importantly, what we have gained whist being in Washington and what we will take back to South-Africa. We all had something to take back home, in fact we all had plenty to take back home. My take home package included a great sense of African and South-African pride and awareness of South-Africa and Africa’s incredible potential for growth. I truly believe if I had not been part of SAWIP and this phenomenal experience in Washington, I would have taken all my knowledge and expertise to another country. Now I feel a sense of urgency to stay in South-Africa and use my expertise for the benefit our country and country folk. I feel obligated to attain the highest qualification and use it as a means to better the entire country not just my own economic status.

What followed was a question to the guests on what they think we should take back home and from these opinions flowed rivers of inspiration. We were told to go home and speak out on issues we feel need to change even if people think it’s not our place to speak out on. We were told to be courageous and role models to the youth of South-Africa. We were told that the United States looks up to South-Africa as being very modern, based on our constitution, and the world desperately needs South-Africa to get it right, and we need to help South-Africa get it right. And lastly we were told not to wait for something to happen or to be done studying and retired to make a change and impact, but to do it now. These words were most inspiring and stimulating to me and definitely something I am going to live up to and advocate for.

We have officially passed the halfway mark of the program and our stay in Washington D.C. No one could have predicted it would go by so quickly, but after an amazing and extremely informative three weeks in D.C, we’re halfway home. Still, at times this entire experience feels like a dream and I pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. It has been a phenomenal three weeks in D.C. I have never learnt and grew so much in a personal, professional and leadership capacity, as I am sure the rest of the team have. What has been most outstanding is the extraordinary young leaders I have met in the Washington-Ireland Program (WIP) and New Story Leadership (NSL) group. When I interact with my SAWIP team, WIP and NSL, I feel absolute confidence that the future is bright. I have learnt immensely from my fellow SAWIP team mates and shared with them life changing moments. On all our discussion and dialogues I have come to realise my role and purpose within SAWIP and the world as a whole. I have learnt to develop, nurture and educate myself toward the responsibility that has been placed upon me.

This experience, though extremely exciting, has been most uncomfortable, but this I believe has been a good thing. I believe it’s a good thing because it’s a sign to me that I’m busy growing, I’m internally being shaped and formed by my experiences and it’s uncomfortable, because of the growth it stimulates. I don’t believe anyone of us on the team has been at all comfortable. If we were this entire experience would have been worthless. I feel grateful and honored to be a part of this program and realise not only is the future in good hands, but so am I.

We recently had the pleasure of meeting with a U.S based youth development program called Urban Alliance. This non-profit serves up to 500 young people in the cities they operate and provide leadership, mentorship and internship courses for these high school graduates coming from disadvantaged communities. It was refreshing interacting with these passionate group of high-school youths on their way to college. Throughout our dialogue about similarities and differences between Urban Alliance and SAWIP, challenges that face our respective countries and cultural differences, I was taken back to my high school days and remembered a similar organization that invested in me. I stopped to think about how we have been informed on Africa’s potential and South-Africa’s potential in particular in the past few weeks and I wondered how many organizations like Urban Alliance and SAWIP are out there investing in the youth.

We always here on South-Africa’s natural resources and potential for economic growth, but seldom we here people speak on the potential of the youth in South-Africa and their potential to influence social change. I feel programs like SAWIP and Urban Alliance are custodians in what will be the next big investment; the youth. Sure enough SAWIP and Urban Alliance are different from each other on so many levels, but I’m drawing a parallel between their willingness to invest in young people. What dividends will these two organizations gain? Can they draw up a projection of returns to investors over 5, 10 or 20 years into the future?

One thing I have come to recognise is the leap of faith programs such as SAWIP and Urban Alliance take. There is no guarantee that the young people they invest in will generate expected returns in ways money can’t match. There is no projection of outcomes based on trends that they follow. There is only trust, hope and faith. Yet as history has shown, these intangible forces are of greatest importance, and as programs such as SAWIP and Urban Alliance will show, these forces generate dividends that far outweigh any monetary value. We as the SAWIP class of 2012 and everything that we will obtain after this incredible experience, will be the living breathing dividends to the entire world. Our impacts will bellow to the rest of the world and corporates such as Wall street that they missed the boat. When they invested in monetary value of companies, investment into people has surpassed returns of that made by companies.

I reckon human investment, particularly youth investment will soon grow into a self-sustaining market. We, currently in these programmes will be part of the pioneers opening the door to this market which will ever increase and serve as the new way to make social change. But the responsibility is on us to live up to that investment and prove to the world that youth investment is the key to social and global change.

Recently the SAWIP team had a discussion on Immigration and human rights. What was indeed a heated and intriguing discussion, one concept stuck to my mind and hasn’t left me alone since.

Being a science student and having very limited knowledge about anything else, I found this dialogue to be quite informative. From speaking to the history of immigration into the United States by Mexicans, statelessness of refugees and Immigration into South-Africa, we flared at one another over moral and legal issues. This argument between what is legal and what is moral dominated the conversation. It seemed that we all want to do the right and moral thing, but we are constrained by the law, particularly laws governing each country or state around the world. These laws make it difficult to find common ground. How can the world try and find common solution to this pressing concern when every country is grounded by a different set of laws, despite the fact that we all believe ourselves to be grounded by a common set of morals? This seems to be where the controversy comes in, we struggle to decide whether to govern by law or morals so we try and make certain morals our laws/rights (South-Africa’s constitutions for example). Yet living by these moral set of laws is a constant problem when we face an uncomfortable and uncertain situation like immigration.

Upon learning about the complexity and controversy of this issue, I couldn’t help but jump in and ask; “Has anyone ever considered the diverse and often critical skill-set immigrants bring to a particular country?” Looking specifically at a developing country such as South-Africa, who is in dire need of practical skills to uplift its economic status. The consensus was that government hasn’t looked into this, in fact I don’t think government has ever considered this. I truly believe this could potentially be a great solution and reconciliation mechanism toward overcoming xenophobia, if government looks at it from this angle. My observation with immigrants around South-Africa has been this; they are incredibly skilled both practically and entrepreneurially. It is precisely for this that many South-Africans loath immigrants, because they are empowered and use their skills to make a living. I reckon we as South-Africans seek empowerment and feel entitled toward it, so when we see a non-South-African having the skills and opportunities we feel belongs to us, it breads despair building up to xenophobia. In fact, xenophobia in essence is not just the fear of foreigners, but the fear of being replaced by foreigners. The fear that our livelihood is being hijacked by people that are so called “not one of us”. In this regard we see the bellowing violence on foreigners spread across our nation, in a desperate attempt to get rid of foreigners before they “take over”.

I feel this could all be avoided if there was a platform or institution that can be constructed in such a way that immigrants wanting to come to South-Africa, can simultaneously be employed and deployed to share their expertise with our nation. In doing so, create a balance whereby foreigners do not take jobs that “belong” to South-African citizens, but that they be treated as teachers to educate and empower our people, especially our youth, that will be skilled enough to claim what “belongs” to them. I realise this is a much heated and complex issue, but I know if worked on it with diligence, persistence and dedication, and in collaboration with government, small businesses and the people, this is possible. Xenophobia can be eradicated, if people could be shown the potential benefit foreigners bring to our beautiful country.

Five years ago I set upon a mission to attain a bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Stellenbosch, and I finally did it. After viewing my semester marks and passing everything, I realised that I completed all my modules and credits needed to obtain my degree and all I need to do is pitch up at graduation at the end of this year. After realising this, an overwhelming wave of emotion swept over me and I just wept.

It has been no easy task. I started my first year coming from a disadvantaged school, entering one of the most prestigious Universities in the country. I was in way over my head, with standards so high that I failed most of my modules in my first year. Here I felt the pressing need to give up and join the rest of my family in a dead end jobs working for minimum wage. However, I did not give up, due to divine intervention I was able to still make it into second year, but lost my residency on campus. I set out to stay elsewhere, anywhere but home, because I knew I would not be able to make it through university in the negative circumstance at home.

I redeemed myself in my second year by passing everything, but failed again in my third year. Failure seemed to wait for me around every corner and I couldn’t understand why. I eventually was tempted to quit again, but I met a mentor who changed my life. The Dean of our faculty of Science taught me something so profound it changed my outlook on life. He said to me that he has failed in so many things in life, that he learnt to make failure his friend, and I should do so too. I was confused by this, but the Dean explained to me the soundness of his advice. He graciously sat down with me and explained that success in anything, teachers you nothing, it just affirms your ability to do something. But when you fail, you always find a lesson behind it and become a better person. I took every single word to heart and made failure my best friend. After doing so, I never saw myself failing anything again. I took every negative and turned into a positive.

Even though I graduate two years after all my peers and friends, I don’t see myself as being two years behind. I've always believed everything happens for a reason and being a part of SAWIP made the reason for my academic journey crystal clear to me. I thought attaining my degree would be the end of my journey, because that’s all I ever wanted to do, I just wanted to break the stigma and prove that it’s possible, and I did.

Now I realise it’s only just the beginning. Getting my degree is the gateway to all the awesome things that is about to follow. I realise that I’m going back to South-Africa more aware of the world and more equipped to make a difference. But I also feel obliged to go back and study outside of my field to understand the world better, disciplines like the economy, law, philosophy, etc. I know now that I should further educate myself to a level which I can have a global perspective and impact. This is the next check point for me on this journey.

These last three weeks has been filled with hard work, exams, workshops and completing the SAWIP challenges that were set before us. For us on SAWIP I truly believe this must’ve been one of the toughest weeks in lives, although I am just as sure it has been the most rewarding.

With exams behind us and the end of SAWIP curriculum events, we all are slowly being taken over by an overwhelming feeling of excitement. Having our host families and internships sorted out, it’s all downhill from here. I personally can’t yet full grasp the fact that I am actually going to Washington D.C. in a few days. I really, didn’t believe I would make it all the way to this point when it all started three months ago. Thinking back on the application and selection process, it was tough going from the start. I filled out the online SAWIP application on the day of its closing date, submitting my form literally moments before the applications closed. By God’s grace alone I received an interview and got short listed for the selection camp, all the while just being grateful for making it that far and not expecting to make the final team. I continually told myself to just enjoy my time on the camp and not think about making the final team, even though that was what was on everybody’s mind throughout the duration of the camp.  Finally after a phenomenal camp we all anxiously waited for that call to inform us if we made it or not. The Monday after the camp must’ve been the longest for us all that were at the selection camp, but upon receiving that glorious call to inform me that I made it onto the final 15, I felt like falling on my knees out of sheer joy and thankfulness.

This experience reminded me of the amazing power we have to attract and create the things we most want in life. This wasn’t something that was taught unto me by a mentor; it was a power I accidentally stumbled upon during my upbringing. I have always been a strong believer in the phrase: “If you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it.” This simple phrase has been the corner stone of my rise out of poverty and development as a young South-African leader. It is this power of thought that brought me to where I am today and never again will I underestimate the power of those words. I had a secret when I applied for SAWIP though, every evening before I went to bed and every morning upon rising and preparing for my day I dreamed of what it would be like being in Washington D.C. I visualised myself in Washington taking part in discussions and touring the city. I did this every day from the day I submitted my application to the final selection. And that was all it was to me, just a dream of going abroad and having that experience, oblivious to the power that dream held. Now here I am, on the verge of living that dream.

I don’t believe this to be an ability restricted or reserved only for the rich or intelligent. I believe every person on this planet can create the reality which they want. The question comes if one believes hard enough to achieve that reality. I like what Dr. Myles Munroe said, “Your life is what you think it should be, and you are who you are because of whom you thought you should be.” This emphasizes again the power we have to manifest our dreams into physical realities and trials into triumph. Poverty in its strongest form is the mentality of disbelief in one’s ability to create one’s own reality. This is evident in society’s unwillingness to be responsible and accountable for their own economic position, resulting in poverty in its weakest form, i.e. unemployment and homelessness.

Of course it is no easy task changing an individual’s mentality; in essence this can only be done by the individual himself. Hench, the growing problem of poverty and unemployment due to lack of this responsibility. As young South-African leaders we are faced with many challenges as complex as these. There is no document or organization to put onto paper solving these challenges. I believe the only way forward is to be an example for those watching and following us. We, who have turned our dreams into physical realities should dream bigger dreams and communicate our dreams to others so that they may see them blossom into physical reality. What limits people is not the money in their bank account, but their imagination. We all have dreams, we all keep dreaming, I urge every leader and South-African citizen to communicate their dreams. Too often we let our dreams lie dormant in the imagination of our mind, oblivious to power of those dreams. My dream is to create a healthy South-Africa where everyone has equal access to medicine and hospital care, for citizens to be responsible for their rights and hold government accountable for their promises. I have more dreams than this as I am sure all my fellow SAWIP team mates have also, and I can’t wait for us to share our dreams and create a better South-Africa through our dreams, first within ourselves and then in the world.

One of the toughest challenges that I faced growing up has been centered around the concept of identity. Never was I sat down with my parents and told this is who your grandma and granddad were and this is what they did. I hardly know my grandparents and their parents or the life they lived. I hardly know what traits (good or bad) I inherited from them. Subsequently I had a problem in one of my grade 7 history classes when we did heritage, because I simply did not know where I come from.

There is such a common stereotype and tendency within the culture I am born into. It centres on the fact that we are the divide of the nation, because we do not have a single racial heritage as our great grandparents, grandparents and sometimes parents are black, white or Indian and we are a mix of those. It goes further to classify us as either first or second generation “coloured” people. Recently, I found out that my maternal grandfather is German. However, I never heard this because my mother never knew her father until much later in her life. It is rare and more difficult to find strong roots for identity when one does not have any record of who one’s grandparents and great grandparents were.

There is yet another more alarming trend in today’s society. Children are growing up in an ever growing fatherless home and fatherless society. Over the past decade there has been a spike in teenage pregnancies and an ever growing disappearance of fathers, primarily due to their unwillingness to carry out the consequences of their actions. This is alarming because 10-20 years down the line; one won’t just have any record of one’s great grandparents, but no record of one’s father as well. This leaves a huge gap in one’s heritage. I fear this disappearance of fathers in today’s society may lead to more probing questions around identity for the future of our country.

There seems to be a generational pattern of erosion of identity and moral responsibility in today’s society. Which probes the question, where would one then find one’s identity? From struggling to place oneself in one or the other race to having no record of a father, certainly eradicates one’s identity?

I recently had the pleasure, along with my fellow team mates, of visiting Drakenstein Palliative Hospice (DPH) day care centre called Butterfly House near Paarl. This phenomenal day care centre is run by Elizabeth Scrimgeour, a great friend of SAWIP. Upon arriving at the Hospice we were pleasantly surprised by an organised march involving the children, staff and youth of Butterfly House. Instead of sitting down in a dialogue or presentation like so many of our activities, we got our hands dirty and took part in an exciting and joyful march around the community to celebrate the 21^st anniversary of the DPH and the contributions it has made to the upliftment of society. Walking through the streets of this impoverished community, I noticed a lot of things, one of which was seeing shacks and brick houses in the same street, opposite one another. During a discussion later that afternoon Elizabeth told us that the entire community was solely informal and only recently have decent houses been built. I found it fascinating watching the children play and sing and being so care-free. With the majority of them living in dysfunctional homes, one would never have guessed this simply because of their joy and the wonderful talent that they have. These kids certainly made me reflect on my childhood and I saw myself in many of them.

What isn’t obvious about Butterfly House is the impact it is having on the identity of these children. I recently stressed this; that if you really want to help somebody living in poverty, to make a success of their life, you have to take them out of that environment and constantly expose them to something better...to hope. In other words, make hope almost tangible through constant exposure to inspirational and uplifting people and activities. This hope then shapes the minds of these children and subsequently their identity and where they see themselves in society and the future.

Through the various activities and amazing people working at the Butterfly House, these young children are finding a new identity. They are finding a more worthwhile sense in Ubuntu (I am because you are) and Ubuntu is becoming ever more positive in the lives of these youngsters.

If one cannot find identity in one’s heritage or past then there is still hope, because there is identity in one’s future, dreams and vision. I was able to find identity in my family and heritage, but it was not the identity I wanted to have, because the only identity I saw was being poor and inferior. However, through hope I created a new identity, I found identity in the man I must become, in the leader I am meant to be. I strongly believe it is this identity that needs to be instilled in the hearts and minds of our society. We are all aware of our South African history and heritage, but we should no longer look back and establish for ourselves who we are, rather look ahead and ask who must I become? In this way our children and their offspring may find this new identity that we are shaping right now. This I believe is our legacy.

“Hope has wings. Butterfly wings” – Butterfly House

Hi there

My name is Shannon and this is my first blog. Up to this point I’ve been procrastinating writing my blog simply because of the enormous expectation I felt pushing down on me. However I’ve decided to take a different approach to blogging and do a three part piece on my experience on this programme and how I have come to view a lot of the challengers I went through as a child and teenager, from an objective point of view. First, allow me to share a little on my history. I was born and raised in the heart of the Cape flats (Clark Estate, Elsies River) and grew up in poverty, drugs and gansgterism. The only talent I thought I had at the time was being verbally active through profanity. When I was 8 years old my parents decided to move out of Elsies River to Kuils River where things were mildly better. Here I still exercised my verbal talent against the teachers and obviously landed me in the principal’s office many times. I never cared for school or education for that matter. I never cared to work hard or do my home work, because what was the point? I wasn’t going to get far in life anyway. My family was poor, I have no role model and I don’t know anyone who finished school and did something with their life. So what’s the point really?

This was the mentality I had from as soon as grade R until grade 10 and it seemed to me nothing could break that mentality. How I got as far as grade 10 I surely do not know, your guess is as good as mine. But there I was in one of the worst schools in our district, because I couldn’t get into a good high school for obvious reasons. I was thrown into a so called new school with 300 other teenagers who were in the same boat as me. So there we were the bunch that couldn’t get into a good high school, all in the same place (not the education department’s brightest idea, but something needed to be done). From here on one can only imagine the chaos that was unleashed on this school. Havoc and mayhem was the order of the day. And after 4 years few of us graduated as the first matriculants of Kuils River Technical High with a 97% pass rate. But those were the good times, maybe the best times and I like to think I was privileged to have gone through such a unique schooling career, privileged not in the traditional sense.

But all of this obviously had a huge impact on my skill set and development as a young South-African. I quickly realised I had a huge gap and backlog in my education compared to other students my age. However, a paradigm shift which occurred in the middle of grade 10 changed my entire outlook on life. This vary paradigm shift took me from an F Maths student to an A in just a few months. And from thereon I set goals for myself to go to University and make something of myself. Here I am today almost 6 years down the line and the life I had back then seem like a bad dream that I woke up from and forgot. But I didn’t forget, in fact I remember all too well. SAWIP has truly made me reflect so hard and critically on my past that it all came back to me in wave of memories. Attending the workshops, events and outings, each had an enormous resonance with my past. All of these events left me feeling so enlightened and provoked more questions, personal questions, in me then ever before. I quickly realised as I did a few years ago that I have a huge backlog in what I know about what is going on around me.

This of course led me to asking myself “Why am I so behind on information?” Why don’t I have more knowledge on this or that?” And why can’t I give a valuable input?” It was only pondering these questions for days that it occurred to me that I was never on the outside, viewing and analysing most of the pressing issues and challenges facing our country, I was on the inside, smack in the middle and going through it all. So much so, that there wasn’t time to sit back and analyse the situation. We just had to survive and survival was all there was to it.

Of course being where I am today and part of this amazing programme I have come to realise the wonderful predisposition I have, and the wonderful people who has gone through some of the most difficult challenges common to almost all South Africans today. I began to feel like I belong, not just because of my past, but also because of the common vision and like-mindedness we all share. And I actually have had time, lots of time to sit back and analyse the challenges I grew up in and although this isn’t the first reflection on my life and my past, it’s the first time I have had to critically reflect and write an objective opinion about it. I’m not good at being objective in some of the challenges we have discussed over the past two moths, simply because I went through most of it. But this is certainly something I am learning to do through this platform.

One of the most inspiring influences thus far has certainly been the township tour to Gugulethu, Langa and Khayelitsha. Meeting the two phenomenal women, Mama Vivian from the Iliso Care Society and Mama Vicky who owns a flourishing bed and breakfast in Khayelitsha. What was most striking to me was not just the success of these initiatives, but the amazing ripple effect it is having on the community and especially the children. I remember watching the children play in the street and being taken back to my childhood years. Although I didn’t grow up in Khayelitsha the atmosphere and games the children played was exactly the same as ours in the Cape flats. This again affirmed to me how much we have in common as South-Africans regardless of race or colour. What was more striking was hearing what Mum Vivian is doing at the Iliso Care Society and how this is having a profound impact on the lives of these kids, a paradigm shift in their minds. A shift from thinking “This is all we know.” to “There are so many wonderful people and opportunities out there.” This simple act of active citizenship from a caring individual is revolutionising the minds of the young and revolutionising South-Africa in the process.

I believe it is these small acts of active citizenship which will transform South-Africa into the glorious country it needs to be, because these small acts have a everlasting impact on the lives of the people and especially children it comes into contact with. It’s not so much just solving the current challenges of our country, but to make sure the next generation does not inherit the same mind-set that caused these challenges to arise in the first place. This is the true meaning of transformation, not forgetting our past, but investing and nurturing a new mentality in all South-Africans and with it a true sense of pride for our Democracy and Constitution.

A wise man once told me there are three things that will change your life; the people you meet, the stories you hear and the books you read. SAWIP has found a way to integrate all of these into one phenomenal programme and change the lives of the team of 2012, as it has for many before us.

Thank you SAWIP and God bless all you amazing people who made all of this possible.